A household condensing desiccant using a desiccant rotor as a dehumidifying element thereof has gradually replaced the conventional compressor-type desiccant in recent years. FIG. 1 shows the structural principle of a general rotary desiccant using a desiccant rotor as the dehumidifying element. As shown, indoor wet air A1 passes through a condenser A9 into a dehumidifying side A2 of the desiccant rotor A3, at where moistures in the wet air A1 are adsorbed to produce dry air A5, which is drafted by an induced-draft fan A4 to complete the removal of moistures from wet air. The desiccant rotor A3 is rotated by a gearing mechanism, so that an area thereof containing the adsorbed moistures is brought to a regeneration side A7 of the desiccant rotor A3, at where the adsorbed moistures are heated to desorb from the rotor A3. There is a regenerating heater A8 located at a beginning of the above-described dehumidifying loop for heating air entered into a heating pipe thereof, so that high temperature air for regeneration is flown through the desiccant rotor A3 to desorb the moistures from the rotor A3 and produces wet hot air A6. The wet hot air A6 is guided by a pipe into the condenser A9, and moistures contained in the wet hot air A6 are condensed. The condensate is guided by a pipe in the condenser A9 to be gathered and collected in a water container A11 disposed at a bottom of the desiccant. The flowing of air in the regeneration area is driven by a regenerating fan A10. With the above arrangements, air dehumidification is achieved.
Generally, a desiccant rotor B1 in this type of dehumidifying apparatus is mounted to a central shaft of the dehumidifying apparatus, and is rotated by an external transmission mechanism B2 to achieve the dehumidifying and regenerating functions. Normally, the desiccant rotor B1 can be a gear-driven, a pulley-driven, or a shaft-driven rotor. In the case of a gear-driven rotor as shown in FIG. 2, a gear of the transmission mechanism B2 meshes with teeth on a protective frame of the rotor B1 to thereby rotate the desiccant rotor B1. In the case of a pulley-driven rotor as shown in FIG. 3, the desiccant rotor B1 is provided on a protective frame with a plurality of teeth, and the transmission mechanism includes a toothed driving pulley B4. A transmission belt B3 connects the desiccant rotor B1 to the driving pulley B4, so as to rotate the rotor B1. In the case of a shaft-driven rotor as shown in FIG. 4, the desiccant rotor B1 has a shaft coupled to a motor B5 via a coupler B6, so that power is transmitted from the motor B5 to the desiccant rotor B1 to rotate the latter.
The above-structured rotary desiccant generally has a nominal service life from 8 to 10 years. However, the actual service life is frequently largely shortened due to working environmental factors, such as dust, smoke particles from cigarette, for example, that tent to clog moisture adsorption holes on the desiccant rotor. To restore and extend the service life of the rotary desiccant, the old rotor must be replaced with a new one. However, it is very inconvenient to replace the desiccant rotor in the conventional rotary desiccant because the whole desiccant must be disassembled before the rotor can be removed and replaced. Therefore, such replacement can not be easily handled by a general user but must be handled by an original manufacturer or dealer using special tools to increase the consumer's and the seller's cost.